Slide fastener operating mechanism



Patented July 22, 1952 OFFICE SLIDE FASTENER OPERATING MECHANISM RoxannShakarian Vahan, North Hollywood, Calif.

Application June 28, 1951, Serial No. 234,055

Claims. 1

The present invention relates to operating mechanisms for slidefasteners in general and particularly to a mechanism adapted to open andto close a slide fastener positioned on the back of a womans dress.

Many articles of womens apparel are provided with slide fasteners goingvertically up and down the center of the back. In many instances thisfastener extends from below the small of the back up to and between theshoulder blades or to the base of the neck and, the human anatomy beingwhat it is, it is extremely difiicult for the wearer to move the slideof the fastener between those two limits. The lower portion can betraversed readily and with the slide near the upper end it can begrasped by an arm pivoted backwardly over the shoulder and then pulledupwardly. There is an intermediate distance, however, in whichdisplacement of the slide is accomplished only with difficulty. With arecognition of this condition the present invention comprises a devicewhich may be mounted upon the wall of the dressing room, or wherever thefastener is to be closed, and which is so constructed and designed thatthe slide element of the fastener may be attached thereto while in alowered convenient position, or in a raised convenient position, andthen, by the displacement of an actuating element, the slide may bedisplaced throughout its entire range of travel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedoperating mechanism for slide fasteners.

It is another object of the invention to provide an operating mechanismfor slide fasteners incorporated in articles of apparel by. which thewearer may readily move the slide of the fastener between its endpositions.

It is another object of the invention to provide an operating device forslide fasteners by which the slide of the fastener may be displacedconveniently and easily between its open and closed positions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a slide fasteneroperating device which is so designed as to be permanently installedupon a vertical supporting surface Where it will conform generally tothe curvature of the users back.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading thefollowing specification and claims and upon considering in connectiontherewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which pre- 2 ferred embodiments of theinvention are illustrated:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevational view of the first preferredembodiment of the invention and illustrates the device in operation whenclosing the slide of the slide fastener in full lines and in dottedlines when in operation to open the slide;

Figure 2 is a front view of the construction of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse horizontal section upon the line 3-3 of Figure1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical section upon the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the slida-ble carriage or runnerwith its attaching means connected to the fastener slide;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a second preferred embodimentof the invention;

Figure 7 is a partial view looking in the direction of the arrows uponthe line 1-1 of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a transverse section upon the line 8--8 of Figure 6.

Referrin again to the drawing, and to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, inparticular, the first :preferred embodiment of the invention isillustrated and is seen to comprise an elongated base I I formedpreferably of sheet metal stamped or rolled to provide a fiat back 12secured against a Vertical supporting wall by means of spaced screws I3.The side edges of back I2 are rolled forwardly and inwardly to provideat its upper and lower ends spaced side walls [4 and between those endsa flat front wall 16 formed with a vertically extending slot I! whichserves as a guideway or track for the slidable runner or carriage H3 inits vertical travel.

Carriage or runner I9 is best illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 5 and isseen to comprise an elongated rigid metallic member which may be formed,if desired, by suitably rolling or shapin a single piece of sheet metal,or by casting if preferred. The runner is generally rectangular in shapeand is provided upon its opposite sides with channels 2| sized toenclose slidingly the opposite edges of front wall [6 upon oppositesides of the slot [7. Its front face is formed with an outwardlyextending bracket 22, which may be stamped from its forward face, andwhich is centrally apertured at 23 to support the looped end of apivoted attaching arm 24 the lower end of which is hooked at 26 toenable it to engage a pivoted flap 2! of the slide 28 of a conventionalslide fastener in the manner illustrated best in Figure 5. The upper andlower ends of runner i9 are provided with rearwardly extending brackets29 which are provided at their rearward ends, which are preferablypositioned within the channeled base H, with apertures 3i to receive theends of the pull or actuating cords to be described.

At the upper end of the base H, and between the spaced side walls 14, ispositioned a pair of independently rotatable pulleys 33 separated by aspacer wall 34 and mounted for rotation upon a transverse shaft 35 theheaded ends of which seat against the outer faces of the walls I4.Spacing washers 3? position the pulleys 33 centrially upon oppositesides of the spacer wall 3 Similarly, and at the lower end of the baseH, there is positioned a single pulley 4i rotatable upon a transverseshaft 42 the headed ends of which abut the outer faces of the base sidewalls l4. Pulley ill is centrally positioned by spacing washers 33.

The actuating means for the device comprise a pair of cords and 4-? atthe outer ends of which are positioned grip or handle members 48 and 49,respectively. Cord 46 connected to handle 28 extends upwardly and overits pulley 33 and then downwardly within the base member ll to connectto the runner I9 at the top bracket 29. Cord 4? connected to the othergrip 49, however, extends upwardly and over its pulley 33 and thendownwardly for the entire length of the base H to extend around thebottom pulley M and then upwardly to connect to the runner I9 at itslower bracket 29. It is seen that a pull outwardly upon the grip orhandle :28 will displace the runner I9 upwardly while the same movementupon the grip or handle 45-] will cause the runner tomove downwardly,that is, toward the lower pulley M.

In the use of the first embodiment of the invention the base I l issecured firmly to a vertical supporting wall by means of the screws 13at a height such that the travel of the runner [9 along the base it willenable it to traverse the vertical distance between the upper and lowerends of the slide fastener on the back of the dress of the person usingthe device. Let it be assumed that the user desires to close thefastener upon her dress. She turns her back to the wall and attaches thehook 26 at the lower end of the arm 2% to the pivoted and apertured flapforming a part of the slide of the conventional slide fastener. With therunner so attached by its arm 24 to the slide, she then grasps thehandle or grip 48 and preferably pulls it forwardly and downwardly, theattached cord 46 passing over her shoulder. The movement of the cord itover its pulley 33 draws the runner l9 upwardly and the latter in itsmovement pulls the fastener slide 28 along with it until finally itreaches the upper end of the fastener.

To accomplish the opening of the slide fastener the pull is exerted uponthe second grip 49 and the movement of its cord 41, being transmittedover its top pulley S3 and then downwardly and around the bottom pulley4|, causes the runner E9 to move in the opposite direction, that is,downwardly, whereupon the attached slide 28 is moved from the top of itstravel to its lowermost position.

Preferably the grips or handles 48 and 49 are sufficiently heavy thatthey draw their attached cords taut and prevent slack in all adjustedpositions of the runner IQ which, under certain circumstances, mightinterfere with the displacement of the runner.

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention illustrated inFigures 6 to 8, inclusive, that form is similar to the first embodimentin its basic principles but is modified to provide a base which can beshaped to conform generally to the curvature of the back of the user.The base, here indicated by the reference character 6|, comprises anelongated rectangularly sectioned metallic member formed with feet 60 atits upper and lower ends adapted to lie fiat against and be secured tothe supporting wall, as by screws 62. A pair of pulleys 63 are screwedat the upper end of the base or track 6| by a bracket 64 and comprisecounterparts of the pulleys 33 of the first embodiment. A single pulley66 is secured by a bracket 61 to the lower end of the frame andcorresponds to the pulley 4| of the first embodiment. The runner in thepresent instance comprises a sleeve 69 which may, if desired, be made ofa single piece of sheet metal shaped to enclose slidingly the base 6|from the forward and rearward faces of which extend brackets H and T2.The former pivotally carries an arm 13, forming the counterpart of theattaching arm 24 of the first embodiment, while the rearwardly extendingbracket 12 is centrally apertured at 13 to receive the ends of the cordsl6 and H which connect at their opposite ends to grips 18 and 19,respectively. The cord 16 extends only over an upper pulley 63 and thenconnects directly to the runner 69 at its rearwardly extending bracketl2. Cord ll, however, extends upwardly and over an upper pulley 63 andthen downwardly and around the lower pulley 66 comprising, therefore, acounterpart of the cord 41 of the first embodiment. The frame BI ischaracterized in that while relatively strong and rigid yet it isadapted to be deformed and shaped between its supporting ends by theapplication of a reasonable force to enable it to vary its shape andspacing from the supporting wall and so conform generally to thecurvature of the users back. A typical curvature is illustrated inFigure 6 and it is to be noted that throughout the entire travel of theslide 19 it is spaced substantially an equal distance from the slidefastener to which it is connected by its arm 13. The use of this secondembodiment of the invention corresponds in all details to the use of thefirst described embodiment.

While the particular apparatus herein shown and described in detail isfully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantageshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an operating device for slide fasteners, an elongated base adaptedto be mounted rigidly upon a supporting wall and including a track, arunner including fastener-attaching means slidably mounted on said trackfor vertical displacement between the ends of said base, a pulley at theupper end of said base, and an actuating cord extended over said pulleyand downwardly to connect to said runner to enable said runner to bedisplaced vertically upon said base by the exertion of an outward forceupon said cord.

2. The construction recited in claim 1 characterized in that said baseis deformable and adapted to be shaped to conform to the curvature ofthe back of the user.

3. In an operating device for slide fasteners, an elongated base adaptedto be mounted rigidly upon a supporting wall and including a track, arunner including fastener-attaching means slidably mounted on said trackfor vertical displacement between the ends of said base, pulleys at theupper and lower ends of said base, and an actuating cord extended over apulley at the upper end of said base, downwardly through said base andaround a pulley at the lower end thereof, and then upwardly into contactwith said runner whereby a pull exerted on said cord causes said runnerto travel downwardly upon said base.

4. The construction recited in claim 3 characterized in that said baseis deformable and adapted to be shaped to conform to the curvature ofthe back of the user.

5. In an operating device for slide fasteners, an elongated base adaptedto be mounted rigidly upon a supporting wall and including a track, arunner including fastener-attaching means slidably mounted on said trackfor vertical displacement between the ends of said base, pulleys at theupper and lower ends of said base, an actuating cord extended over apulley at the upper end of said base and connected to said runner toenable said runner to be displaced vertically upon said base by theexertion of an outward force upon said cord, and a handle grip connectedto the end of said cord of sufficient weight to hold said cord taut inall positions of said runner.

6. In an operating device for slide fasteners, an elongated base adaptedto be mounted rigidly upon a supporting wall and including a track, arunner including fastener-attaching means slidably mounted on said trackfor vertical displacement between the ends of said base, pulleys at theupper and lower ends of said base, an actuating cord extended over apulley at the upper end of said base, downwardly through said base andaround a pulley at the lower end thereof, and then upwardly to connectto said runner whereby a pull exerted on said cord causes said runner totravel downwardly upon said base, and a handle grip connected to the endof said cord of sufficient weight to hold said cord taut in allpositions of said runner.

7. In an operating device for a slide fastener, an elongated frameincluding a vertical track, a runner including fastener-attaching meansslidable on said track, pulleys positioned at the upper and lower endsof said frame, a cord extended over an upper pulley and connected tosaid runner, a second cord extended over an upper pulley, down alongsaid frame and around a lower pulley, and then extended upwardly toconneat to said runner, said cords providing means whereby upon theselective exertion of a pull thereon said runner can be displacedupwardly or downwardly on said frame.

8. In an operating device for a slide fastener, an elongated frameincluding a track, a runner including fastener-attaching means slidableon said track, pulleys positioned at the upper and lower ends of saidframe, a cord extended over an upper pulley and connected to saidrunner, a second cord extended over an upper pulley, down along saidframe and around a lower pulley, and then extended upwardly to connectto said runner, said cords providing means whereby upon the selectiveexertion of a pull thereon said runner can be displaced upwardly ordownwardly on said frame when arranged vertically upon a supportingwall, and grip members secured to the outer ends of said cords ofsufiicient weight as to draw said cords taut in all positions of saidrunner.

9. The construction recited in claim 8 characterized in that said runnerincludes a pivoted element constructed to engage the apertured flapforming a part of the conventional slide of a slide fastener.

10. The construction recited in claim 8 characterized in that said frameis deformable and adapted to be shaped to conform to the curvature ofthe back of the user.

ROXANN SHAKARIAN VAHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,201,843 Williams May 21, 19402,531,805 Clark Nov. 28, 1950

